The Chairman of Innoson Group of Companies, Innocent Chukwuma has clarified why Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, acquired 20 Toyota trucks for his new security outfit code-named ‘Operation Crush’, instead of the IVM truck brand.
Innoson said, contrary to the information in public space about the purchase, Governor Otti remains among his best customers since he started manufacturing IVM vehicles.
Explaining the deal during a monitored interview on Arise TV on Friday, Chukwuma said he could not meet the timeframe given to deliver the 20 vehicles.
The clarification comes against the backdrop of attacks on Otti after he unveiled his new security outfit with Toyota trucks as official vehicles.
According to Chukwuma, based on his arrangement with Otti, 80 per cent of the official cars in Abia State are Innoson brands.
Chukwuma said, “Alex Otti was one of my best customers even before he became the Governor. He has been using my vehicles for years, and every time he tells me that my vehicles perform so well. So, this time, he requested so many vehicles from me both for the Commissioners and most political officeholders in his state, including himself.
“I am producing all of them, and I told him that the pickup truck will be ready in the next 14 days. He said he needs immediate security pickups, and I told him my own will be ready in 14 days’ time because I have so many orders at hand.
“Buying 20 vehicles from others outside the ones he bought from me is not a problem. He has bought enough. He bought for lawmakers, commissioners, and himself. He bought 80 per cent of his vehicle needs from me. It is not bad that he took some from another place to ensure that the security is working. I am not against what he did.”
The IVM founder revealed that his current production is 40 per cent of the 30,000 annual capacity. This translates to 12,000 vehicles per year.
He said, “We are doing manufacturing and not importation. We manufacture based on the order. Someone who gives you an order of about 100 vehicles and is given 14 days; I don’t think the time is so long. If you produce so much and keep it, you will not see where to pack the vehicles.
“This is a security vehicle, and he needs it urgently, you don’t know how his state is and that was why I encouraged him to buy from another if he cannot wait for two weeks. I’m producing over 200 vehicles online, and it will be ready in two weeks. We don’t produce much and keep. Due to rain and sun, when you supply to people, they will say we are supplying secondhand vehicles.
“It is an insult to say that we don’t have capacity. My factory has the capacity to produce according to the order that we have. The factory’s capacity is about 30,000 units per year, and we are now at about 40 per cent of our production capacity.
“We employ people according to the orders that we have. When we get more orders, we employ more people. We can’t put all Nigerians there when we don’t have many orders. We have the capacity; all we need is more order.”
He said a lot of foreign exchange will be saved when the country stops the importation of vehicles and focuses its attention on local brands.
“This will support job creation. See how the good brains we have in Nigeria are moving out. Let us promote what will keep them busy. Let everybody support locally made,” he added.
